When the AFP client support is removed from Mac OS X next year, this will all but end network access to files stored on PPC machines. SMB authentication doesn't work, so Guest access over SMB seems to be the only option. Unless someone can suggest anything else, this looks like the end of the road for my two 2005 Power Mac G5s (4TB and 16GB RAM each)and my G4 Cube (750GB and maxed out RAM). Anyone any ideas the years of files I have on those machines can be accessed in future?
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Ending network access to PPC machines
- Thread starter ewelme
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Wouldn't VNC or other remote desktop solutions work? There is also setting them up as a server that supports ftp or http (lighthttp can do this on Tiger on up but I am sure there are other alternatives). Bonjour should work also afaik.
What?
Are you saying that Apple removing AFP support from the next version of MacOS means that your two G5s and your G4 Cube will no longer be able to communicate between themselves? AFAIK, Apple isn't reaching backwards to rip out AFP client support from older versions of MacOS.
Or are you saying that this ends your ability to connect to these Macs from a newer Mac because you're going to update the OS on your M-series Mac?
If so…do like has frequently been done. Keep another Mac around on an earlier OS and use it as a bridge. Connect your M-series Mac to it via SMB and your PowerPC Macs to it using AFP. OR…get a NAS. Synology has older NAS devices that use SMB and AFP. I own two, plus one more that's a ZyXel, and it also has SMB and AFP.
Better yet, put the standard version of SMB (not the one installed with the OS) on your PowerPC Macs by installing DAVE: https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/thursby-dave-621
The sky is not falling.
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None of this matters whatsoever.
Most NAS devices can do AFP. I run TrueNAS Core, which has AFP. All of the devices can share files that way.
As to Apple allegedly removing the AFP client next year.. If that even happens, it won't matter either. Netatalk is available on homebrew and is an actively developed service.
Anything which does not strictly require kernel support can and will be done without Apple “supporting” anything.
There are numerous network protocols, and thankfully nobody needs Apple’s permission to use ssh etc.
There are numerous network protocols, and thankfully nobody needs Apple’s permission to use ssh etc.
Why doesn’t it? It this is a samba bug, please open a ticket so that they can fix it. Or it can be an incorrect setup locally.
It's probably a bit of both. I hate SMB. In my almost 20 years of screwing with this stuff, I've gotten SMB to work the way AFP works by about 90%. Authentication is just a mess in general with SMB IMO. It feels like one of those standards that everyone implements simply because it's there and has the most "support".
Much like Windows is on 90% of computers. It's there, everyone uses it, but it's by no means the best (or even close to it).
If you're talking about Apple's version of SMB, then I can see why you had issues. In my old job, I used DAVE for years because the stock SMB version that Apple had for PowerPC Macs was entirely inadequate.
But even more inadequate was FSM (File Services for Macintosh) on the server side. Sure, I got AFP. But I had to keep ALL filenames to 32 characters in length including the extension. But it was either run FSM from the server or use SMB. Windows SBS 2003 and later the Windows 8 Server did not have AFP.
Now, in 2025 as I work from home, I use SMB on the work Mac to connect to the work NAS. I'd use AFP, it's more stable and solid. But, every time I try to copy, move, or open MULTIPLE files at a time, Finder chooses to work with just ONE file and then error on the rest. SMB gives me some issues, despite now being the 'standard' version of SMB - but it will work with more than one file at a time.
That could just be down to settings on our work NAS (through a VPN), but I have no control over that.
Kind of important for a protocol intended for sharing files between (different types of) computers, no?
IMO both protocols suck in that they will randomly crap out in weird ways. I wish I could use sftp for everything, but nothing supports it out of the box, including Finder on any version of OS X. (And I want to use Finder, not some other client.)
The moment that AFP support dies, somebody will make a modern mac app that connects to AFP shares.
If internal threats aren't an issue and you trust your perimeter is secure, then you can force SMB 1 to work, or use FTP for insecure solutions.
For a continued more secure solution you can use SCP or SFTP on your old Macs.
Personally I'll probably use a Raspberry Pi as a intermediary between old/new devices with FTP, CIFS, and Netatalk setup so I can get things to functionally all my retro machines.
If internal threats aren't an issue and you trust your perimeter is secure, then you can force SMB 1 to work, or use FTP for insecure solutions.
For a continued more secure solution you can use SCP or SFTP on your old Macs.
Personally I'll probably use a Raspberry Pi as a intermediary between old/new devices with FTP, CIFS, and Netatalk setup so I can get things to functionally all my retro machines.
Could you tell a bit about that? I contributed to netatalk itself (MacPorts and perhaps upstream), but never had time to try it in action.
Netatalk is just an AFP server for pretty much anything UNIX-like, it's what functionally every NAS with AFP support uses.
I haven't done anything with it other than file sharing, but last time I set up an instance I saw there are configs to play nice with Samba and printer sharing.
But with SMB1 compromised and support for it disabled on everything modern, it's well past time to setup a NAS "bridge" with old/new protocols active as an internal edge device between my old/new machines. I'll never need more than a few hundred GB.
I haven't done anything with it other than file sharing, but last time I set up an instance I saw there are configs to play nice with Samba and printer sharing.
But with SMB1 compromised and support for it disabled on everything modern, it's well past time to setup a NAS "bridge" with old/new protocols active as an internal edge device between my old/new machines. I'll never need more than a few hundred GB.
Presumably samba3, samba4 and netatalk4 gonna work on powerpc. At least all of them build
